www.scrumwithstyle.com Dealing with the Counterproductive Games holding back your Scrum adoption Honesty, transparency and communication are how to deal with games. The more games are played, the less honesty, transparency and communication. With: Rowan Bunning, CST
Rowan Bunning Background in object oriented & web dev. with vendors, start-ups & consultancies Introduced to Agile over 10 years ago as: the way good Smalltalkers develop software Pioneer of Scrum in Australia Agile Coach / ScrumMaster at a leading agile consultancy in the U.K. I teach Certified ScrumMaster Certified Scrum Product Owner Effective User Stories Agile Estimating and Planning Scrum for Teams Agile Coach in Australia
Situation: Your Scrum adoption is challenged Problem: People are behaving in a way that is counterproductive to the Scrum effort Our Solution: ID the Counterproductive Games being played ID and execute a strategy to address the game play
Characteristics of a Counterproductive Game Driven by hidden agendas Involve attempts to gain personal payoffs Can be seen to do more harm than good Blame Game Scapegoat Victim No Bad News Token Involvement
Proposition Proposition: Counter-productive games in the workplace can impede our efforts to become agile.
Session Outline Activity Introduction to Games Exercise: Game review and selection Exercise: Game story telling Exercise: Game timeline Exercise: Force field analysis Intervention strategies Exercise: Game intervention discussion Reflection & take aways Time-box 10m 15m 20m 10m 5m 5m 10m 10m
Introduction to counterproductive games
What are games? [A game] is a recurring set of transactions, often repetitious, superficially plausible, with a concealed motivation; or, more colloquially, a series of moves with a snare or gimmick. - Eric Berne M.D.
Traits of counterproductive games Manipulation - some level of dishonest behaviour to achieve objectives Paradoxical consequences - short term gain for player, long term pain for group Repetitiveness - may be habits Contagious effect - viral Group activity - 2+ people involved
We all play games! To deal with... Anxiety e.g. about stepping out of your comfort zone Fear e.g. of being blamed, of losing position Ambiguity e.g. associated with being low in organisational hierarchy Identity and Self-esteem e.g. as an expert tester or business analyst
Factors that increase counterproductive gameplay Low levels of trust Opacity Competition Individualism Fear-based motivation Strongly hierarchical organisation Extreme short-term pressure Disruptive change
Find your game
Interpersonal games Middleman Foot-dragging Gotcha Marginalise Blame Big Splash Career Hopper Victim Gossip No Bad News Smoke & Mirrors Social Loaf A selection of games Leadership games All Top Priority No Decision Keep Them Guessing Gray Zone Token Involvement Kill the Messenger Scapegoat Micro-Management Estimation games Doubling and add some Reverse doubling option Guess the number I m thinking of The Spanish Inquisition False Precision
Games tour and selection activity 1. Take a tour around the room. Take your time to read about the various games. 2. Once you ve read them to your satisfaction, stand beside the one that is most relevant to you in your workplace. 3. Feel free to chat with others gathered at the same game but save your fully story until the end of the time-box.
A possible game structure 1. The Con the opening line that invites another player in 2. The Gimmick the other player s interest in the Con 3. The Response the normal back-and-forth interaction of the game that can last for a period of time 4. The Switch something is said that disturbs the backand-forth interaction 5. The Cross Up a sense of unease that is not as it seems 6. The Payoff the reason (which may be unconscious) for someone to play the game Reference: Eric Berne, What Do You Say After You Say Hello?, 1972.
Game story telling Take turns going around your group telling stories about how the counterproductive game you selected was played in your organisation. As well as the context, use the 6 part game structure as a guide Select one example to use for analysis * Feel free to change names to protect the (not so) innocent
Photo: Dave Hunt/EPA Game intervention
Dealing with games 1. Write the sequence of stages for the game 2. Force field analysis 3. Identify where and how you could interrupt the game 4. Ways to Execute Intervention
1: Write the sequence of stages for the game Q: How are people being invited into the game? Q: What is the response to game-initiating words or deeds? Q: What conversations epitomise the game? 1. Con 2. Gimmick 3. Response 4. Switch Time
Helping forces - wind Sprint Goal focus Demo only Done items Transparency The Game: Smoke and Mirrors Hindering forces - anchors Anxious stakeholders Unrealistic expectations
3: Identify where and how you could interrupt the game 1. Con 2. Gimmick 3. Response 4. Switch How can you stop people being invited into the game? What can you do so that people lose interest in the game? What might you say or do to stop the back-and-forth routine of the game? Can you prevent the game from moving to another level?
4: Ways to Execute Intervention Choose to play a different role - rather than the one the game calls for (disrupting the game) Call the game - a crucial conversation Undermine the game say or do something that robs people of their motivation for playing Bring in another person - to help stop the game Bring in an alternative approach Exit remove yourself from a game-playing situation
Some techniques Motivation Example Games Tr y Fear Lack of Responsibility Competition Control Middleman, Foot-dragging No Decision, Blame, Victim, Social Loaf, Grey Zone, Gossip, Smoke & Mirrors, No Bad News All Top Priority, Big Splash Career Hopper, Scapegoat, Marginalise Token Involvement, Micro-Management, Gotcha Education on roles and personal growth opportunities, Pilot Raising self-awareness using Christopher Avery's steps toward responsibility Aligning (perceived) incentives to team/ collaboration, amplifying appreciation of collaborative behaviour Education on roles and personal growth opportunities
Intervention discussion Brainstorm options for intervention and capture on sticky notes placed on the timeline Discuss the Strengths and Weaknesses of each option
Reflection & Take aways A: What unexpected insights did you have? B: How might this help back at work?
Source material
Thanks www.scrumwithstyle.com Rowan Bunning rowan@scrumwithstyle.com Twitter: @rowanb au.linkedin.com/in/rowanbunning